Thanks Mike lol

Yes mecrox, in the time honoured traditions of Pentax User competitions there is only one entry per person allowed, so give it your (quite literally) best shot.

Not *too* many - I've gotta judge!

There can certainly be objects on the ground and yes, they can be subjects if you like - I just want them shot from above this week.

Pssst... *ahem* eBay *cough*

A place for you to discuss the competition, once we've had the first entry I won't look at this thread again until the judging is complete so if you have any questions for me then send me a PM.

We spend our whole lives walking on it but how often do we stop to take photos of it? Now here's your chance! It could be a luscious lawn or a comfortable carpet, manky mud or a pebble path - you can even include your own feet if you like; the only stipulation from me is that your camera is pointing down.

The usual fortnightly competition rules apply (max size 800 pixels / must be taken within the next two weeks / EXIF data left intact or noted by your post) and the closing date will be Wednesday 2nd September 2009 at 18:00 GMT.

Good luck everybody!

Try www.7dayshop.com - very reasonable prices and relatively quick delivery.

Thanks for the win Ken - I'm really quite chuffed with that! The picture in the frame isn't that large so the lens was only a couple of inches away from it - hence I could use f8 without getting the whole field in focus.

Thanks too to Lilly for the inspiration, although I feel a little bad for stealing first place from under your nose now.

My personal favourite was Aiki's - it was the reflection of the lace that did it for me, it reminded me of my own Grandmother's house.

I'll post a new topic up once I've thought of one!

This is a guess, but see if this describes what you're doing:

When you're shooting a scene outdoors with a wide lens then the chances are that a good amount of the scene is sky. Sky is very bright so the camera compensates by darkening the image (to avoid blowing out the highlights).

When you're shooting with a longer lens the subject tends to fill the frame. Without the sky to throw things out of whack the camera will produce a well exposed image.

Once you know how your camera reacts to such things you can start playing with the exposure compensation to make sure you get the image you want.

Was I close?

If it were me I'd swab the area around the shutter button with a cotton bud soaked in water/washing-up liquid, then dry it off with a hairdryer.

The sealing should prevent any water getting to sensitive parts but you need the Fairy Liquid to dissolve the sugary gloop left by the beer - do it fairly quick and dry it straight away to minimise the chances of anything soaking through.

Good luck!